N.Korea Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles from Near DMZ

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles early Wednesday morning from a site in North Hwanghae Province about 40 km from the demilitarized zone.

They flew some 500 km and fell into the East Sea.

It was the second time since March that the North has fired ballistic missiles from an inland area rather than a coastal site.

The missiles were fired at 4 a.m. and 4:20 a.m. from Pyongsan in a northeasterly direction towards the East Sea without declaring any no-fly or no-sail zone, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said.

The missiles were presumed to be Scud-D or Scud-ER, a modified Scud-C. Back on March 26, the North fired two Rodong missiles from Sukchon, South Pyongan Province across the inland area into the East Sea.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries failed to detect the launches in advance both times because the North secretly moved a mobile launch vehicle 20 to 30 km away from its base.

Since Feb. 21, the North has fired a total of 95 medium and short-range projectiles, including rockets from new 300 mm multiple rocket launchers, Scud and Rodong missiles, and FROG rockets.